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Gena Rowlands passed away at age 94. She had a prolific career in film and television, including work with late husband John Cassavetes. Rowlands was best known for her role in The Notebook, where she played the older version of Allie Calhoun.

Gena Rowlands has passed away at the age of 94. Rowlands was an American actor in films, stage productions, and television, who was born in Wisconsin in 1930. In addition to having her own career, she had a high-profile family that included a 35-year marriage with prolific filmmaker John Cassavetes. She shared three children with Cassavetes, including Nick Cassavetes, who went on to be a filmmaker himself and directed The Notebook, a movie in which Rowlands starred.

According to TMZ, Rowlands has died. She was 94. The actor passed away in her home on Wednesday, August 14, surrounded by her family members. No official cause of death has been revealed for Rowlands, but...

Beloved actor Gena Rowlands has died at the age of 94, it has been confirmed. The star – best known for films like A Woman Under The Influence and Gloria, directed by her husband John Cassavetes – was renowned for her raw and uncompromising performances, making an indelible impact on cinema often while working outside of the Hollywood studio system. Rowlands passed away at home, following a previous diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.

While Rowlands made her big-screen debut in 1958’s The High Cost Of Loving, her cinematic collaborations with Cassavetes as director began in 1963 with A Child Is Waiting – and continued through the likes of 1968’s Faces, 1971’s Minnie And Moskowitz, 1974’s A Woman Under The Influence, 1977’s Opening Night, 1980’s Gloria, and 1984’s Love Streams. Their work together marked early examples of independent cinema. A Woman Under The Influence – for which Rowlands won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar...

Gena Rowlands, whose seminal and fearless performance in “A Woman Under the Influence” inspired a generation and who starred in many other John Cassavetes features as well as the romance “The Notebook,” died Wednesday at her home in Indian Wells, Calif. She was 94.

Her death was confirmed by the office of her son’s agent. In June, Nick Cassavetes, who directed his mother in “The Notebook,” shared that the three-time Emmy winner and two-time Oscar nominee had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Rowlands’ role as Mabel Longhetti in the 1974 drama “A Woman Under the Influence,” written for her and directed by husband John Cassavetes, landed the actor the first of two Academy Award nominations. The other nom was for “Gloria” (1980), also directed by her husband. In November 2015, she was awarded an honorary Academy Award at the annual Governors Awards in recognition of her storied career.

“Working this long? I didn...

Giuliano Montaldo, the admired Italian filmmaker who wrote and directed Sacco & Vanzetti, the John Cassavetes-starring Machine Gun McCain and every episode of the big-budget 1982 miniseries Marco Polo, has died. He was 93.

Montaldo died Wednesday at his home in Rome, his family announced.

His big-screen résumé also included The Reckless (1965), starring Renato Salvatori; Grand Slam (1967), starring Janet Leigh; Giordano Bruno (1973), starring Gian Maria Volonté and Charlotte Rampling; And Agnes Chose to Die (1976), starring Ingrid Thulin; and The Gold Rimmed Glasses (1987), starring Philippe Noiret, Rupert Everett, Stefania Sandrelli and Valeria Golino.

Of the 20 films Montaldo helmed, 16 were set to music by Ennio Morricone; no other director collaborated with the famed composer more.

Montaldo also served as president of Italy’s Rai Cinema from 1999-2004.

Montaldo’s gangster tale Machine Gun McCain (1969), which also starred Britt Ekland, Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk, and Sacco & Vanzetti (1971), about the Massachusetts trial and 1927 execution of...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

2021 Oscar-Nominated Short Films

Check out Jared Mobarak’s reviews of all of this Oscar-nominated short films, including Animation, Live-Action, and Documentary.

Where to Stream: Virtual Cinemas

Concrete Cowboy (Ricky Staub)

There is a moment of surreal wonder near the start of Concrete Cowboy, the TIFF premiere co-starring Idris Elba, that is never equaled again, a sequence of unexpected radiance conjuring a sense of astonishment. A troubled teenager has been sent from Detroit to Philadelphia to spend the summer with his long-absent father. He arrives at night to a nearly empty, rather foreboding street. Eventually he finds his (seemingly) menacing father and is led into a ramshackle, messy home. Suddenly...

Despite the proliferation of streaming services, it’s becoming increasingly clear that any cinephile only needs subscriptions to a few to survive. Among the top of our list are The Criterion Channel and Mubi and now they’ve each unveiled their stellar April line-ups.

Over at The Criterion Channel, highlights include spotlights on Ennio Morricone, the Marx Brothers, Isabel Sandoval, and Ramin Bahrani, plus Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard, Frank Borzage’s Moonrise, the brand-new restoration of Joyce Chopra’s Smooth Talk, and one of last year’s best films, David Osit’s Mayor.

At Mubi (where we’re offering a 30-day trial), they’ll have the exclusive streaming premiere of two of the finest festival films from last year’s circuit, Cristi Puiu’s Malmkrog and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Labyrinth of Cinema, plus Philippe Garrel’s latest The Salt of Tears, along with films from Terry Gilliam, George A. Romero,...

"They had plans... I had plans, too... I would have to become the creature that gets born only once every generation." Netflix has revealed the full-length official trailer for The White Tiger, the new film made by Ramin Bahrani. The film tells the epic and empowering journey of a poor Indian driver (Adarsh Gourav) who uses his wit and cunning to break free from servitude to his rich masters (Rajkummar Rao and Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and rise to the top of the heap - in his own way. The White Tiger is based on the New York Times bestseller and 2008 Man Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name. The book is praised for having: "this is the authentic voice of the Third World, like you've never heard it before." I almost got the chills when Queen's "I Want to Break Free" comes in to make the trailer ...

Freeform and Hulu have acquired linear and digital rights to three hit films from STXfilms – Hustlers, The Upside and I Feel Pretty, all set to roll out beginning in 2020. This marks the latest collaboration between Hulu and a Disney cable network, following Hulu and FX’s deal with Lionsgate, and is another vivid illustration of the coalescing of assets under the Disney umbrella. The deal was announced Friday ahead of the networks’ presentation at TCA.

Hustlers and The Upside each have generated over $100 million during their North American theatrical run, while I Feel Pretty, has drawn over $94 million worldwide. The films will simultaneously debut on Freeform and Hulu.

Starting with the Amy Schumer comedy I Feel Pretty in August 2020, the films will premiere day-and-date on both Freeform and Hulu. The Upside, starring Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman, and Hustlers, starring Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez, will premiere over...

Gian Maria Volonté has a big part in this prime quality Italo crime thriller blessed with a great score by Ennio Morricone. But the movie belongs to Robert Hoffman as the real-life public enemy who earned the alias 'The Machine Gun Soloist.' Director Carlo Lizzani's realistic treatment glamorizes nothing and implicates the police in shady policies as well. Award-winning co-star Lisa Gastoni is the woman who loves Hoffman, and is tempted to betray him. Wake Up and Kill Blu-ray + DVD Arrow Video (UK) 1966 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 124 98 min / Svegliati e uccidi; Lutring; Wake Up and Die / Street Date November 24, 2015 / 29.95 Starring Robert Hoffmann, Lisa Gastoni, Gian Maria Volonté, Claudio Camaso, Renato Niccolai, Ottavio Fanfani, Pupo De Luca, Corrado Olmi. Cinematography Armando Nannuzzi Film Editing Franco Fraticelli Original Music Ennio Morricone Written by Ugo Pirro, Carlo Lizzani Produced by Jacques Bar, Joseph Fryd, Carlo Lizzani Directed by Carlo Lizzani  

Reviewed by...

We're sad to report that actor Ben Gazzara has succumbed to pancreatic cancer at age 81. Over Gazzara's nearly-sixty year career, his greatest screen moments occurred in collaboration with close friend John Cassavetes, along with actors Peter Falk, Seymour Cassel, and Cassavetes' wife Gena Rowlands. With Falk's passing last year and now with Gazzara's, it seems an opportune time to revisit a 2004 chat I had for Venice Magazine with the surviving members of the Cassavetes "company" that coincided with Criterion's release of their "John Cassavetes: Five Films" collection. Cassel was the only member not present during the conversations, which took place in the home that John and Gena shared from 1962 until his death, and which served as a location for many of their films together.

Remembering Cassavetes:

The Legacy of America’s Most Important Indie Film Pioneer Is Preserved in the Criterion Collection’s New Release John Cassavetes:...

He was America's most famous TV detective Columbo… but he was also so much more, recalls Gena Rowlands

I first met Peter Falk in 1969 on the set of a film called Gli Intoccabili, which, for some reason, was released in America as Machine Gun McCain. It was what I call a "kind of good movie" and it was a lot of fun to make. We hit it off and became good friends, Peter, John [Cassavetes, Rowland's husband] and I. That was the beginning of a long, close and very creative friendship. A very special friendship.

Then John wrote for Peter, Ben Gazzara and himself. That led to A Woman Under the Influence, which came out in 1974. Peter was my husband and I was the woman having a breakdown. His character was under a lot of pressure, too, and he played that out so well. He was a mixed-up guy but a loving husband.

Welcome to the first Notebook Soundtrack Mix—Hyper Sleep! A word about the mix: There's no thematic thread through this collection, it's a variety of intriguing music. In making soundtrack mixes, I'm drawn to the subjective qualities of association and meaning that arise from experiencing the musical narratives that result from transitions and combinations of tracks in succession. Though there are several favorite films, Seijun Suzuki's Branded to Kill, for one, individual pieces are chosen simply for the music. I haven't seen some of the films. Robert Drasnin, Vladimir Cosma and Antoine Duhamel are represented with curious French T.V. work, rather than with some of their more well known output (The Kremlin Letter, Diva and Pierrot le fou, respectively.) Maybe this is the first of a series…I have several ideas for themed mixes, but wanted to start this way, including work that reflects jazz, classical, experimental and pop influences.

0:00 - Intro 4:38 - Headlines: Evil Dead Remake Gets a Director 11:50 - Trailer Trash: The Dark Knight Rises, Hugo, Contagion, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, John Carter, The Thing 35:30 - Review: 13 Assassins 58:25 - Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 1:10:15 - Other Stuff We Watched: Mulholland Dr., Insidious, Machine Gun McCain, The Long Riders, Dawn of the Dead, Zazie dans le Metro, Senna, Fake it So Real, Dark Days, Arachnophobia, Reign of Fire, Short Circuit, Cemetery Junction, Retro Game Master 1:47:15 - Junk Mail: Plot Synopsis, Non-Superhero Comics, Frank Oz, David Cronenberg's Oldboy Remake, Frank Catching Jeter's 300th Ball, Applause During Movies, Filing DVD Double Packs, Drunk Remix and Advice for Future Selves 2:26:00 - This Week's DVD Releases 2:37:15 - Outro » Download the MP3 (73 Mb) [1] » View the show notes [2] » Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

It is to be expected that the obituaries and commemorations for Peter Falk, who passed away last Thursday, would center on his four-time Emmy-winning starring role in the long-running series Columbo (the character was first introduced in a 1968 TV movie, it was turned into an NBC series running 1971-1977, then ABC revived the brand in 1989 for 24 TV movies, the last airing in 2003). His role as the perennially rumpled, misleadingly bumbling, “Ahhh, just one more thing…” homicide detective was not only his most famous and memorable character, but one which achieved that rarified altitude of “iconic.” Think Falk; think Columbo.

And as deserving as the tributes are, as laudatory as the valedictories have been, they still don’t do justice to the range and power Falk demonstrated throughout his career as an actor on both large and small screen.

Even the laurels thrown on his work in Columbo focus on the visible elements,...

John Cassavetes' artistic legacy is largely built around his role as the prototypical American indie filmmaker with works like Shadows, Husbands, and The Killing of A Chinese Bookie. In spite of his directing prowess, Cassavetes mostly made his living as a film and television actor. He was in a lot of great stuff including Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen. He was also in a lot of dodgy stuff like Incubus.

One of his more obscure roles was in Machine Gun McCain, a 1969 Italian gangster film directed by Giuliano Montaldo. Blue Underground has pulled this film from the depths of obscurity with a new Blu-Ray release. It's an interesting choice because Machine Gun McCain doesn't have the punishing ruthlessness of similar films by Fernando Di Leo or Sergio Sollima. Ultimately, it is a strong but minor work whose biggest draws are the performances of Cassavettes and his cohort Peter Falk.

Chicago – It’s pretty hard for contemporary audiences to look at a title like “Machine Gun McCain,” and not immediately make a political joke out of it. The most obvious one would be, “What’s the sequel called, “‘Pistol-Packing Palin’?” Of course, this minor cult classic came out long before the 2008 election, and was playing in theaters at the same time John McCain was being held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.

The film stars legendary independent filmmaker John Cassavetes, five years after he memorably punched Ronald Reagan in “The Killers.” Cassavetes took acting roles primarily so he could fund his own projects, which were groundbreaking, audacious, uncompromising and fueled entirely by the passion and invention of their cast and crew. That same tireless passion is apparent in several of Cassavetes’s performances, even the ones he was supposedly phoning in. His work in “Machine Gun McCain” single-handedly...

DVD Playhouse—August 2010

By

Allen Gardner

Black Orpheus (Criterion) Winner of the 1959 Best Foreign Film Oscar and that same year’s Palme d’Or at Cannes, Black Orpheus is a modern-day update of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice reset in 20th century Brazil during Carnival in Rio. Director Marcel Camus offers up a visual feast with some of the decade’s most ravishing color cinematography. A classic. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Archival interviews with Camus and actress Marpessa Dawn; Interviews with Brazilian cinema scholar Robert Stam, jazz historian Gary Giddins, and Brazilian author Ruy Castro; Documentary on the film; Trailer. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.

The Last Song (Touchstone) Sentimental adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ (by Sparks and Jeff Van Wie) sentimental novel about a father and daughter attempting to repair their damaged relationship. Greg Kinnear, as the dad in question, comes off best, while tween sensation Miley Cyrus...

This week on DVD and Blu-ray I get to re-watch one of the best TV shows of the last decade, see below:

Grab ‘Em Right Away

Lost – The Complete Series Blu-ray

Created by: J. J. Abrams

Starring: Matthew Fox, Naveen Andrews, Jorge Garcia, Josh Hollaway, Daniel Day Kim, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O’Quinn, Emile De Ravin, Michael Emerson, Dominic Monaghan & Henry Ian Cusick

Why should you buy this? Because (as I said above) it is one of the greatest TV shows of the past decade. It definitely doesn’t surpass my love for The Wire, but it hits a science-fiction/storytelling high that many one-hour dramas would love to reach. Not only does the show take it’s situation seriously, but it takes the treatment of its characters with such truth that you never feel taken advantage of. Even though I do have a few problems with some...

Looks like another uneventful Tuesday as far as DVD releases go. By far the biggest thing hitting stores this week is the final season of Lost and the Complete Collection box set, but other borderline noteworthy discs include The Back Up Plan starring Jennifer Lopez, the Australian thriller The Square starring Joel Edgerton, Dorian Gray starring Ben Barnes, and George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead. As for TV on DVD, there is also Season 13 of The Simpsons, season 2 of Pawn Stars, Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection, and the made-for-tv animated feature Turtles Forever (which is worth checking out if you're a Tmnt fan). All this plus The Asylum's magnificent unofficial sequel to James Cameron's Titanic! Will you be buying or renting anything this week? The Back Up Plan [1] (+ Blu-ray [2]) The Square [3] (+ Blu-ray [4]) Survival of the Dead [5] (+ Blu-ray [6]) City Island [7] (+ Blu-ray [8]) Dorian Gray [9] (+ Blu-ray [10]) $5 a...

Hey peoples! Ok so this week is exciting for releases! Finally for all of you Lost fans you can get the final season!

The full collection includes 36 discs, a Senet game, more than 30 hours of bonus material from all seasons, weird stuff like a black light and an ankh and as much joy as you can stuff into a collectible box. The Season 6 set has the extras you'll find on the Complete Collection DVD, including the 12-minute epilogue.

I found a picture of all the stuff that comes in the box set so I figured I would post it so you can all see!

Lost: Season 6

The final season of this Emmy-winning drama brings the series to a smashing climax that reveals the fate of the survivors of Oceanic's flight 815, including Jack (Matthew Fox) and the others who escaped the island once, only to return. But as Kate (Evangeline Lilly...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"$5 a Day" (2008)

Directed by Nigel Cole

Released by Image Entertainment

A refugee of the bankrupt Capitol Films, this dramedy starring Christopher Walken as a raconteur who claims he's able to live a full life on the titular Lincoln bill is finally seeing the light of day after premiering at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. Alessandro Nivola co-stars as his son who drives him to New Mexico when he falls ill. Sharon Stone and Amanda Peet are along for the ride.

"2:22" (2008)

Directed by Phillip Guzman

Released by Inception Media Group

A quartet of thieves scheme to rob a boutique hotel on New Year's Eve, but find out that what's waiting for them on the inside is even colder than the snow-caked streets outside. Just as he did for his 2006 crime thriller "Played," star/co-writer Rossi called upon famous pals Gabriel Byrne and Val Kilmer...

Film producer and Blue Underground DVD company founder William Lustig is back in New York City for his annual sponsorship of a cult movie festival that opens Thursday at the Anthology Film Archives. It's a treasure trove of flicks you never get to see on the big screen anymore because most were dismissed by critics in their day. Among the gems: White Line Fever, 99 44/100 Dead, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Machine Gun McCain, Dark of the Sun and The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover. The festival is so popular that today's Wall Street Journal ran a major article about it. Click here for the film calendar.

Curious to know what frightful films and devilish discs will be available to view in the privacy of your own digital dungeon this week? Fango's got you covered.

Below the jump you'll find the full list of titles arriving in-stores this Tuesday, September 29, 2009 in our weekly version of the famous Fangoria Chopping List. There's a good bounty to be had, so start making your own chopping list now!

Note: Clickable links lead to Amazon.com

42Nd Street Forever Volume 5: The Alamo Drafthouse Edition (special edition): Synapse

Welcome To The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the most awesome post-modern hot spot for exploitation movie revival, deep in the heart of Texas! Home to world-famous events such as The Quentin Tarantino Film Fest, Fantastic Fest and Butt-Numb-A-Thon, the Alamo is one of the last places on earth where you can still see grindhouse classics such as The Devil Within Her and Mad Monkey Kung Fu.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, the Italian genre films from the 1960s through the 1970s still remain the gold standard, the Golden Age, the yardstick to measure bigger-than-life greatness in low budget international cult cinema. Rivaled only by the Japanese in the same time period for sheer jaw-dropping wildness, the Italian moviemakers toiled in the salt mines of debased genres - giallo (sexy suspense) thrillers, sword and sandal adventures, spaghetti sagebrush sagas, gothic horror, nunsploitation and, last but not least, polizioteschi or the action-packed crime film. That said, before delving further back in time, the American Cinematheque in L.A. is kicking off a "Grindhouse" film series with a double bill from the 1980s-'90s - Dario Argento's "Opera" and Michele Soavi's "Cemetery Man" July 9. Also screening are two sexy jet-set, giallo mindbenders with Carroll Baker (Paranoia and A Quiet Place To Kill); a peplum double bill...

I have always been moved in some way or another by film music, but no one has created a bigger lump in the throat or watered my eyes more than Ennio Morricone.

He made film music transcend the film. He made me realize that film music could invoke emotions that went beyond just playing sad or tense or action themes. His music became the emotional anchor of the films he scored. This is music that didn’t have to make you think of the film it was used in, but gives your life its own score. I know that may be getting a little carried away, but that’s how I’ve always viewed it.

Being a (very) amateur composer myself, I always fall back on not just his work but the context of how it’s placed in movies. The few cues that were written before filming especially in...